Process of macerating sugar-cane.



No. 787,102. PATENTED APR.11,1905. M. LORENZ. PROCESS OF MAGERATING SUGAR CANE.

APPLIOATION FILED NOV. 19, 1904.

Patented April 11, 1905.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEicE.

MAX LORENZ, OF HONOLULU, TERRITORY OI HAIVAII.

PROCESS OF MACERATING SUGAR-CANE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 787,102, dated April 11, 1905.

Application tiIeil November 10, 1904. Serial No. 232,107.

lIe it known that I, Max Lonnxz, asubject ot' the( iermau Emperor, residing at I lonolulu, Island of Oahu, 'lerritory of Ilawaii, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Processes ol I\Iaceratiou for Sugar-Cane Mills. of which the following is a specilication.

This invention relates to the process of macerating the crushed cane upon discharge from a mill previous to its entering between the rollers ot a succeeding mill, the mills being arranged in tandem and connected by intermediate apron conveyers, and has for its object to render the process more eliicient and to obtain a higher extraction ol the sugar in the cane than has heretofore been obtained without unduly increasing the amount of maceration-water to be evaporated.

Maceration is delined as the process of so ttening and dissolving by steeping in a tluid. In sugar-cane-mill work water has been used to macerate the crushed cane from a mill previous to its passing through a succeeding mill. Usually the crushed cane immediately upon its discharge from a mill onto the apron 1 conveyor receives a shower of water, preferably heated, thereby so t'tening the crushed cane, diluting the juice left in same, and tithing up in solution part of its sugar. The macerated crushed cane is then passed through a succeeding mill. which extracts in the form of diluted juice a larger percentage of the sugar in the cane than would have been obtained without maceration; but maceration with water when repeated between successive mills causes the juices to become so diluted that the represents in sectional elevation a milling plant such as I employ with my process of maceration.

A represents a crusher which may be used to prepare the cane for the lirst mill B, while O, l), and E are three other mills, all arranged in tandem. Each successive mill extracts in the form of juice a lower percentage of the sugar in the cane than its preceding mill.

. The hagasse or crushed cane from the third mill I), containing less sugar than the bagasse from the preceding mills, I macerate with water at H, as pure water will take up more sugar in solution than will diluted mill-juices. The juice extracted by the fourth mill E is thereby diluted. and I use this diluted juice to macerate at (i the bagasse from the second mill C, and the resulting juice extracted by the third mill I), containing a higher percentage of sugar, I use at I to macerate the bagasse t'ronrthe lirst mill B, containing more sugar than the bagassc from its succeeding mill O. In order to accomplish this, I divide the screen of the continuous juice-strainer into three divisions, so that the juice discharged from the third mill 1) and that from the Fourth mill E is strained in separate divisions, while that from the crusher and lirst and second mills is strained in a third division. Iemploy a steam-siphon to lift the strained juice from the third mill .1) to macerate at F and a similar siphon for that from the fourth mill E to maccrate at (ir, the juices being heated and slightly diluted thereby previous to their being used for maceration.

It will now be noted that I apply maceration three times while the juices are diluted but once by maceration with water and that l in the three maccrations the ditl'erence between the percentage of sugar in the bagasse macerated and the percentage of sugar in the liquid used to macerate it is more nearly uniform than by any other arrangement. By my process a high extraction is obtained without materialiy increasing the water to be e\'ap orated.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters lateut, is is I. The method of treatingsugarcane,which consists in passing it through a plurality of mills in succession, and macerating the crushed cane between the first and second mills with the juice from one of the succeeding mills.

2. The method of treating sugar-cane,which consists in passing it through a plurality of mills in succession, macerating the crushed cane between the first and second mills with juice from one of the succeeding mills, and macerating between two of the succeeding mills with water only.

3. The method of treating sugar-cane, which consists in passing it through a plurality of mills in succession, macerating the crushed cane between the first and second mills with juice from the third mill, macerating between the second and third mills with juice from the fourth mill, and macerating with water only between the third and fourth mills.

4. The method of treating sugar-cane, which consists in passing it through a plurality of mills in succession, conducting the juices away from the mills separately, and delivering said of the mills and lifting it by a steam-siphonv and conducting it to and macerating the crushed cane with 1t, at a po1nt between preceding mills in the train.

1n testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscriblng witnesses.

MAX LORENZ.

WVitnesses:

W'. J. DYER,

ROBT. J. PRATT. 

